The National Transportation Safety Board has blamed Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America (NGPL) for an accident that killed 11 crew members of the Northumberland fishing boat off Port Arthur, Tex., last Oct. 3.
The Northumberland was 1/2 mile offshore, west of the entrance to Sabine Pass in 911 ft of water, when it struck and ruptured NGPL's 16 in. line from four platforms. The boat was destroyed. Three other crew members were injured (OGJ, Dec. 11, 1989, p. 32).
NTSB determined that the line, although originally buried in the seabed, was exposed in the area of the accident. In another development, key members of the House of Representatives have agreed on a bill that would require pipeline companies to inspect all of their lines in shallow waters.
NTSB FINDINGS
NTSB generally blamed NGPL for not maintaining the pipeline at the burial depth required by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. The board also blamed various federal agencies for not requiring NGPL to do so.
It cleared the Northumberland, owned by Zapata Haynie Corp.
NTSB said, "Because the master of the Northumberland was operating the vessel in an area that was normal and usual to its trade and at a reasonable speed, his actions were not a factor in the accident."
NTSB said the hull of the ship was close to, or slightly penetrating the seabed, when it struck and ruptured the gas pipeline.
The board recommended that NGPL regularly inspect its offshore lines and rebury them to comply with construction plans and right-of-way permits and revise its district emergency plans.
It said the Department of Transportation should increase efforts by the Office of Pipeline Safety, Research and Special Programs Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard to see that pipelines are properly buried.
It urged those agencies to cooperate with the Minerals Management Service and Corps of Engineers and said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should note on its navigation charts where submerged pipelines may not be safely buried.
LEGISLATION PLANNED
In Congress, the House public works committee planned to mark up compromise legislation on seabed pipeline safety and rush it to the House floor.
Rep. Billy Tauzin (D-La.), who has been pushing for a bill, last week agreed to changes suggested by Rep. Phil Sharp (D Ind.), chairman of the House energy and power subcommittee.
Tauzin's bill, prompted by the Northumberland accident, would require annual inspections of gas pipelines and insure they are covered by 3 ft of soil or 18 in. of rock when the water depth is less than 22 ft.
Sharp proposed expanding the legislation to oil pipelines, dropping the penalty provisions (some already are law), and changing the depth requirement to 15 ft.
John Kobasa, ANR Pipeline Co.'s vice-president for operations, testified last week before public works on behalf of the American Gas Association and Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.
He said it takes 3-5 days to inspect a single mile of underwater pipeline and "given the uncertainty of weather conditions and the availability of diving crews to perform the inspections, it may not be possible to inspect all lines even with a 6 month extension."
He pointed out that some pipelines are laid in trenches below the natural bottom, but they are not covered with soil.
Exceptions should be made for them, he said.
William Thacker, president of Unocal Inc., testified for the American Petroleum Institute and Association of Oil Pipelines.
He said legislation is not needed, but any bill should exempt oil pipelines that are currently exempt from DOT regulations because they are of small diameter or low pressure.
Travis Dungan, DOT research and special programs administrator, also called the bill unnecessary, although he said DOT lacks the authority to require reburial of pipelines constructed before 1970.
He said it would be extremely difficult for DOT to draft regulations in 3 months, as required by the bill.
An interagency task force plans to issue a report by the end of the month on the hazards of exposed subsea pipelines, and the Office of Pipeline Safety is considering revisions to its rules. As part of those revisions, he predicted, operators will be required to remove all abandoned pipelines.
Also, DOT plans to announce later this year that it will require pipeline operators to maintain current maps and records that show the location and characteristics of their pipelines, onshore and offshore.
Dungan said DOT is working with the Minerals Management Service to redefine their respective jurisdictions in the Gulf of Mexico in a formal memorandum of understanding.
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